Of the 96 people found dead of heatstroke this summer in Tokyo’s 23 wards, 87 were aged 65 or older, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government said Thursday, urging the elderly to drink water and take salt before going to bed. Many victims died at night ...

Hoping to respond to the growing needs of working with online technology to survive a fast-changing world, the education ministry is considering launching a research project next fiscal year on using digital textbooks in schools. Experts say, however, the ministry should thoroughly examine the ...

From August, Chuo Ward in Tokyo will start to razing two “fukko” (revival) elementary schools, and demolish a third one around two years later. However, architectural experts, local residents and alumni oppose the plan, claiming the buildings have high cultural value and the ward ...

Hong Kong’s secretary for education, Michael Suen, is looking for Japanese students to study in the city. “I am confident that our education reforms, open-door policies for overseas students and the modern city lifestyle of Hong Kong will continue to attract talented young people ...

With beads of sweat pouring down his forehead, veteran Democratic Party of Japan lawmaker Toshio Ogawa addressed a small crowd in Tokyo late last month, begging for their support in the Upper House election. The 62-year-old Ogawa told the gathering their votes would allow ...

Starting next fiscal year, all elementary schools will be required to introduce compulsory English lessons for fifth- and sixth-graders. The scores of Japanese who take the Test of English as a Foreign Language are among the lowest in Asia, and thus their proficiency levels ...

Tsuneo Akaeda, a 66-year-old obstetrician and gynecologist who runs a clinic in Tokyo’s Roppongi nightlife district, knows more than most about the sex lives of teenagers, many of whom come to him for abortions or treatment for sexually transmitted diseases. To his mind, pornographic ...

The Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly is deliberating stronger regulations on sexual images of minors in “manga” comic books, animation and video games. If the revised ordinance is passed, publishers will have to exercise greater restraint on content with sexual depictions of characters that people can ...

Former Democratic Party of Japan Secretary General Ichiro Ozawa should go before a Diet ethics committee to give a detailed explanation about his political funds scandal, land minister Seiji Maehara said late Tuesday. “Since I remember that he himself has been positive toward attending ...

An expert panel from the Cultural Affairs Agency has publicized a conversation phrase reference for Japanese-language teachers of nonnative learners that details the minimum necessary expressions in everyday life. The reference shows useful phrases with grammatical notes for 121 situations, including when people see ...